Houston has come a long way since its original Asiatown developed in East Downtown in the 1980s. The area was once bustling with a number of Asian-owned restaurants and businesses, and was considered one of the best places to seek out excellent Chinese food. Rapid commercial development in the ‘90s resulted in their displacement, leading many to relocate to Southwest Houston where Asiatown, as we know it today, was taking shape.
In the last couple of decades, Bellaire Boulevard in Asiatown has indeed become a hotbed for great Chinese restaurants, but the cuisine is well represented far and wide across the city with chefs taking to Montrose, the Heights, Rice Village, River Oaks, and the new Katy Asiatown to showcase their takes on traditional fare. From golden Beijing duck to melt-in-your-mouth xiao long bao, Houston’s Chinese restaurants deliver a dining experience as vibrant and rich as the city’s cultural tapestry.
Whether it’s a hearty takeout order you seek, or a more in depth, dim sum brunch experience, consider this guide of Houston’s best Chinese restaurants the next time a craving for soup dumplings or sesame chicken hits.
Lao Sze Chuan
An outpost of celebrity chef Tony Hu’s Chicago restaurant, Lao Sze Chuan opened in Montrose in 2023, and quickly became known as a top tier destination for dim sum, rice and noodle platters, and spicy specialty chicken dishes galore. Splurge on the crispy duck ($32), smoked in black tea over fragrant camphor wood, and keep a Thai tea near when tasting your way through peppery dishes like the mapo tofu ($14), boiled fish ($20), and twice-cooked pork ($16). 3407 Montrose Blvd. Ste. A-8, Houston, laoszechuantx.com
China Garden
Vintage menus and family snapshots adorn the walls of China Garden, Houston’s oldest Chinese restaurant. Established in 1969 by David and Marian Jue, the stalwart remains family-run with the couple’s children at the helm today. Huddle with your dining mates around heaping portions of Chinese traditions like Hunan beef ($25), sweet and sour chicken ($19), and China Garden’s signature, oversized egg rolls ($8). With its close proximity to the Toyota Center in Downtown, China Garden has long served as a gathering place before or after sporting events and concerts. 1602 Leeland St., Houston, originalchinagardenhouston.com
Mala Sichuan Bistro
Even before this Sichuan restaurant was awarded a Bib Gourmand from Michelin, it was lauded among locals for its tongue-tingling dishes. Crowd-pleasers like housemade red oil dumplings ($9), dan dan noodles with ground pork ($9), and spicy crispy chicken ($16) pack plenty of fiery flavor, while an unexpected punch from Sichuan peppercorns keep diners sweating. With outposts in Asiatown, Katy, Sugar Land, Montrose, and the Heights, Mala is a convenient choice for both dining in and taking out. Multiple locations, malasichuan.com
Fung’s Kitchen
This capacious restaurant specializes in Cantonese-style live seafood, with fresh fish, lobster, shrimp, and more on offer. Visit on weekends when dim sum carts weave their way through the dining room, laden with a wide variety of small plates, and then end the meal with the TikTok famous lava buns, a pillowy pastry filled with salted egg yolk custard. 7320 Southwest Fwy. #115, Houston, fungskitchen.com
Tim Ho Wan
This Michelin-rated dim sum house based in Hong Kong, opened its first Texas outpost in Katy, further cementing the area’s budding Asiatown as a premier culinary destination. Tim Ho Wan is known for its baked BBQ pork buns ($8), which pack tender meat into subtly sweet, doughy buns with a sugary crust. These are a must, but the vast menu has much more to explore in the way of dim sum, including har gow with shrimp ($8), sticky rice in lotus leaf ($9), and bone-warming congee ($7). 23330 Grand Cir. Blvd. Ste. 180, Katy, timhowanusa.com
Cafe Ginger
Located in the River Oaks Shopping Center, this Japanese-Chinese fusion restaurant is a draw for its sophisticated, art-filled interiors just as much as its food. Along with a full sushi program, the menu features classic plates like moo shu ($9), sesame chicken ($18), Mongolian beef ($20), and Hunan prawns ($23). A hard-to-beat lunch menu, which features an entree, soup, and side ($16), makes this a hopping day-time destination. 1574 W. Gray St., Houston, cafeginger.net
Rice Box
Let the brilliant shine of neon lights guide you to one of Rice Box’s four illuminated Houston locations. The fast casual, counter-service restaurant offers belly-busting eats as a callback to the comfort and nostalgia of American Chinese takeout. Staples like orange peeled beef and kung pao chicken come with rice and an egg roll, and guests can opt to make dishes vegetarian by subbing out the protein for tofu or cauliflower. Multiple locations, riceboxed.com
Duck N Bao
It isn’t mandatory to order the whole lacquered Peking-style duck at Duck N Bao, but it’s clear why the dish is the restaurant’s namesake. Served half ($35) or whole ($58), the signature duck is roasted daily, and presented alongside pancakes, cucumber, scallion, and duck sauce making it an epic feast to share. While duck may be the main attraction, consider wetting your palate with a variety of dim sum, or starters like the marinated garlic cucumbers ($8), kung pao brussels sprouts ($10), and smoked pork ribs smoked in tea leaf ($21). 5535 Memorial Dr. Ste. O, Houston, ducknbao.com
